It’s been awhile. Anyway. Here are my final thoughts on 2024, the books I read in November, and my top 3 reads for the year! As an aside, I’m saving my December reads for a January post.
2024 was a year. I benched 315 for the first time, started building and painting miniatures, and revitalized my love of training. I try to keep my posts and my presence on the internet positive which is why I’ve been pretty quiet and posting quite infrequently. A lot happened this year and I’ll spare you the details. At a high level, my family is all good; my wife and I have the strongest relationship we’ve ever had, my kids are growing and learning each in their unique ways, and my personal life is steady and great. However, there were a lot of externalities that were complicated including family members passing away, close friends going through divorces, family going through divorces, and close friends making suicide attempts. For this reason, I lost a lot of time that I would typically use for posting content and my top priorities were brought into full light. My priorities are my family, my mental health, and how jacked and juicy my ass is.
I had to avoid the internet. The internet is a strange place. I think humans don’t like middle grounds. We like extremes. “top 3 reasons to x your y” are common tropes for pushing content. I’ve been guilty of this. My first book review post contained reviews that were all rated 9+ out of 10. That’s not accurate but I was motivated to not yuck other people’s yums and I did so in an incorrect way. I changed how I did reviews, but I kept quiet on my motivations. I’ll try to keep my reviews the way they’ve been; some number of black hearts out of 5. These aren’t stars on purpose — they’re a representation of how much my black heart enjoyed a book. I hope this bit of transparency is useful.
Because I was so busy this year, I spent most of my time in 2024 trying to rekindle a flame of enjoying the little things. It turns out, enjoying the little things is actually quite easy to do. My son is at the perfect age to enjoy star wars. So we started learning about star wars together. We also ended up watching some of the movies when we had the time. I decided to go through the movies in linear order; 1-9. We’ve made our way through the first three and he really loves them. My daughter is also old enough to start enjoying some more one-on-one time with Dad. We had plenty of spa days which were relaxing and enjoyable for both of us. My wife and I got away for a couple of dates. The kids are at an age where they’re starting to stay up later; which means staying up late for one-on-one connection has made us lose sleep. We both don’t like that. In 2025, we’re going to need to find a baby sitter to get more adult time.
Despite the drama my family was trudging through, my enjoyment of my day to day life has never been higher. Now that we’ve made it through the eye of the storm, things are calming down and I’m starting to get more time to be online again. Which I like, because I think I have a message to share and this year really proved it to me intrinsically. Faith in Christ combined with exercise is a winning strategy when combating depressive episodes. I think I’ve done an inadequate job of expressing my faith in Christ and I’ll try to incorporate that more in the future.
So, that was my 2024. A good reminder that sometimes you just batten down the hatches and weather the storm. I don’t want to be too preachy, but I’m a Christian and I’d like to share a little of what I’ve been meditating on: the fruit of the spirit. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. In 2025, my goal is to live a life exemplifying the spirit. I hope you consider doing the same.
Completely changing topics — onto some book reviews.
We’ll start with the books I completed in November. In November, the gorilla with glasses book club made our way through She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. This was a quick historical fantasy read that I enjoyed. The story primarily focuses on analyzing gender and gender roles. I found the pacing a little jarring at times and regularly had to think about where I was in the world.
In December and January, the book club is tackling the behemoth that is Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson — the fifth installment of the Stormlight Archive.
I also finished up Mushroom Blues by Adrian M. Gibson. I started this book in summer. It took me a LONG time to read. Looking at the length, that should surprise you. Let me explain what happened. Long story short, bookstagram happened. This book was sold to me as a cyberpunk novel and it is not.
I realized a few pages in that the reviews were completely wrong. My vibe was off and the false review that got me to read the book really turned me off and I didn’t want to finish the novel. I put the book down and went back to it after a few months. I’m glad I ignored my reservations and persevered, but it did take me awhile to pick it back up.
Mushroom blues is a neo-noire crime drama set in what the author calls a “fungalpunk” world. The story is great and Gibson tackles complex topics, such as forgiveness and healing from traumas, in a beautifully crafted world. The story is uniquely written in a detective procedural fashion, which when combined with the world building and story progression makes for a very enjoyable read.
Finally, in my quest to finish a Stormlight Archive reread I finished Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson. Rhythm of War is the fourth installment of the Stormlight Archive. I really enjoyed this book on my second go-round. This book examines the finale of Kaladin stormblessed’s series-long manic episode. The mental health struggles are on full display and the character is left to fight for his life. While somewhat cliche, Kaladin “makes the jump” as part of process of uncovering what’s behind his cluttered and inconsistent being.
In addition to Kaladin’s struggles, we also follow Navani and her journey to uncover the secrets of Roshar’s magic systems. Throughout her journey she struggles with internal self loathing and self sabotage.
This reread was a treat. I really enjoyed the subtlety of the mental health struggles in all of the characters. The story and character arcs were nicely woven into a larger plot of the book as well as the series as a whole. I really enjoyed this one.
Now we move onto my top reads of the year!
Coming in at number 3, we have No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. While originally a screenplay, this western is fantastic, well paced, and super enjoyable. Some of the scenes in this book are even more powerful than the movie. With that being said, the movie — which is Javier Bardem’s breakout roll — includes scenes with such fine acting that it’s hard to compare the two. Either way, I highly recommend you give both a try.
At number 2, we have Piranesi by Suzanna Clarke. This was a completely unexpected favorite. Voted as a book club read, I went into this one blind. It’s a quick read with lots of mystery and a perfect vibe. I loved it.
Finally, topping my list from 2024 is another book club read — the Lies of Locke Lamora. This was another book I went into mostly blind. Easily the book with the most satisfying crescendo I’ve read in a while and definitely in 2024. It’s fantasy, found family, and interesting magic. I highly recommend you give this one a shot.
That was my year. I hope you enjoyed this post. I’m really excited for 2025. There are lots of things to look forward to.
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